As a new economic pattern,the network economy has a different rule of competition from the past.Under this environment,consumers may be locked by a particular brand because of the high level of transfer cost.Every one in this network is influenced by network effects.The first network that reaches the critical mass would gain competitive advantage under the force of positive feedback.To accurately understand the new rule of network economy and its new features is the key for firms to success in this economy.


The following address was presented at the luncheon meeting of the Conference on Latin American History of the American Historical Association in Philadelphia on December 29, 1963. Before you bombard with the china and charge with the cutlery, know that I have taken counsel with my peers. My topic I put to them with a plea that they give me a judgment of my theme, or some notion of the tack I should take. "Singularly barren, your theme," came the first response. Said the next: "You ask for a tack; I suggest a sledge hammer." Awesome, though, was this: "If you say what ought to be said, you will be crucified; and if you don't, can you be pleased with that?" "If you can do it undetected, slide off the subject," advised a wily one. Another, though he discounted them, had heard rumbles, womblings I take to spring from the viscera, not the head. The secretaries of our academy assure me, however, that these infirmities, already affecting the skin, often break out in a rash upon their records.


guage. And yet, Thelle concludes, it "remains trapped in the language and conventions of Japanese literature" (p. 217). Finally, and one senses this is the area about which she feels strongest regret, she comments on both Nakagami's portrayal of women and the preemptive statements made by male critics warning against future "feminist misreadings" (p. 218) of his work. Not only are women the objects of the violence of men but their representation never moves beyond that usually to be found in buraku literature. More subtly, there lies a deep problem in the way the female third-person narrator tells the tale. Put simply, although she claims to know "everything from beginning to end about everyone," she tells most of the stories from the men's point of view. Even, or perhaps especially, in the scene that resembles a gang rape, the events are imagined as the boys tell their stories; the girl's action and perspective are never revealed. For critics, such as Watanabe Naomi and Karatani Kōjin, such sexual violence somehow embodies the violence embedded in the text's formal resistance. Thelle is not convinced that this totally explains either the violence or the misogyny. Nevertheless, this does not dissuade her from the conclusion that Kiseki is indeed a masterpiece, demonstrating a "constant negotiation of borders, of language, culture and identity" that shows Nakagami's legacy is one that contributes "to shock and to provoke, to undermine and challenge conventions, and to engage the reader in a dialogue where questions are raised and given no easy or obvious answers" (p. 230). Reading these academic treatments of Nakagami's work made me eager to go back to the original texts—partly because they made me wonder why there is such a great interest in those texts and in Nakagami, and why there is comparatively so little in the social scientifi c analysis of matters buraku.


The fast Fourier transformation method is used to obtain a numerical solution of the integral equations describing an unstable confocal resonator with spherical mirrors. A study is made of the field distortions characteristic of the operation of a resonator filled with a fast-flowing active medium, such as asymmetric distortions of the mirror surfaces simulating thermal deformation, small-scale random phase inhomogeneities, and a phase inhomogeneity resulting from the formation of compression and expansion waves in a supersonic stream. Calculations are made of the situation in the case of lasing in a fast-flowing stream consisting of a mixture of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor.


It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Sports Coaching Review Editorial Board member, Dr William (Bill) Taylor. He died suddenly recently, whilst cycling with a friend across America. Many of you would no doubt be aware of Bill's contribution to the sports coaching field as author, pedagogue and practitioner. Although he was all of these things without doubt, he was also much more; a back-stage driving force behind much of the critical coaching agenda. I first met Bill following an appointment as an external examiner at Manchester Metropolitan University in the mid-1990s. First impressions? An undoubtedly thorough thinker who definitively stood for "things" (the fact that I also shared many of those "things" made us natural professional allies). Admittedly, administration was not quite his strongest suit (!) as, for Bill, there were far more important things to be concerned about in Higher Education. In many ways, a professional scholarship was a second career for Bill; his first being that of a builder or rather "working the bricks" as he would have it. Notwithstanding some teasing about how could someone so compliant to angles, straight lines and measurements ever become a bone fide critical academic, what that experience had alternatively (and gratefully) grounded in Bill was an earthiness to value relationships and a faithfulness to what he deemed important. Having somewhat drifted professionally apart when my time at MMU ended, we reignited a personal and professional friendship through the work to establish and develop SCR and, more significantly CRiC (the Cluster for Research into Coaching); an initiative originally driven by Dave Day and Bill at MMU. CRiC conferences held at MMU (in 2011, 2013, 2015), Cardiff Met (2017), Worcester (2019) and Loughborough (2022), respectively, brought together for the first time a community of scholars (and coaches/coach educators) who saw (and see) coaching as a more dynamic, social and complex enterprise than had previously been considered. For many of us, such meetings became SPORTS COACHING REVIEW 2023, VOL. 12, NO. 3, 251–252 https://doi.org/10.1080/21640629.2023.2211497


A definition of topological phases of density matrices is presented. The topological invariants in case of both noninteracting and interacting systems are extended to nonzero temperatures. The influence of electron interactions on topological insulators at finite temperatures is investigated. A correlated topological insulator is described by the Kane-Mele model, which is extended by the interaction term of the Falicov-Kimball type. Within the Hartree-Fock and the Hubbard I approximations, thermodynamic and topological phase diagrams are determined where the long-range order is included. The results show that correlation effects lead to a strong suppression of the existence of the nontrivial topological phase. In the homogeneous phase, we find a purely correlation driven phase transition into the topologically trivial Mott insulator.


Prey typically coexist with multiple predator species, each of which presents a predation risk related to its habitat domain and foraging mode. These predator characteristics can be used to predict how the risk from multiple predators will combine to create emergent multiple predator effects for shared prey. Interactions between predators, particularly intraguild predation, can strongly alter prey suppression, though the importance of intraguild predation in multiple predator effects has not been explicitly explored. Furthermore, the vast majority of studies on multiple predator effects has focused on shared prey that are herbivorous, thus experiments focused on mesopredators are needed to evaluate the generality of conclusions made about multiple predator effects. We used a suite of carnivorous arthropods to test a predictive framework of multiple predator effects and to evaluate the role of intraguild predation in shaping these effects. We allowed the wolf spiders Pardosa milvina, Tigrosa helluo, and Rabidosa rabida and the ground beetle Scarites quadriceps to interact and recorded the outcome of all predatory events. We used two tests of multiple predator effects to determine whether predators created risk enhancement, risk reduction, or were substitutable. We found that the occurrence of intraguild predation decreased the overall risk to prey, causing observed multiple predator effects to deviate from predictions. Additionally, we highlight the importance of considering predator identity, as predators were capable of increasing, decreasing, or not altering the success of their competitors. Our study demonstrates that intraguild predation is a critical factor in determining how the risk from multiple predators will combine to affect their prey.


Objective To investigate the correlation between the test results of serum thyroid hormones and TCM symptoms in the patients with stroke in the acute seizure phase. Methods The statistical method of correlation analysis and Stroke Scale of National Institute of Health of America (NIHSS) were used to study the levels of thyroid hormones and factor scores of TCM symptoms at two time points (72 hours and 14 days after the attack of stroke). Results At 72 hours after the attack of stroke the detective values of thyroid hormones [triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxin (T4), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and thyrotrophic supersensitivity hormone (TSH)] were correlated negatively to the scores of fire-heat syndrome and NIHSS. The values of T3 and FT4 had negative correlations respectively to the scores of the syndrome of yin deficiency with yang hyperactivity and blood stasis syndrome. The values of T3 and FT3 were correlated to age. At 14 days after the attack of stroke all values of T3, T4 and FT3 were correlated negatively to the scores of blood stasis syndrome, the value of FT3 had a negative correlation to the scores of phlegm syndrome and NIHSS, and the value of T4 was correlated to age. Conclusion The serum levels of thyroid hormones are negatively correlated to the scores of fire-heat syndrome and NIHSS within 72 hours of the attack of stroke, and are correlated negatively to the score of blood stasis syndrome 14 days after the attack of stroke. The serum levels of thyroid hormones are correlated to age, to different extents, at two time points.


Nakseonjae in Changdeokgung Palace was established at The King Hunjong's 13rd year (1847), the mid-19th century. It was constructed for own rests of King Hunjong and the residence of Kyungbin (king's concubines), and is showing features of upper-class houses from several points such as rustic archit...


It is a known phenomenon that it is difficult to make organizational changes within professional organizations. One recurring observation and experience from health care studies is that it is difficult to discuss the last organizational change with professionals because the most recent change is always perceived as the worst. In order to avoid this routine response, the authors of this article asked 56 senior physicians from the Swedish health care sector what their ideal organization looks like. The authors note that there is a strong institutionalized idea among the physicians of how health care should be organized. The image is not particularly complicated: the organization should be based on the meeting between doctor and patient. One conclusion in the article is that professionals dislike change, but nevertheless, they still want it. Actual change is not the problem only changes that are not in compliance with the professionals' opinions of organization and management.


One of the most fundamental studies on culture in recent years is Dutch scientist Geert Hofstede's study of the cultural dimension. This study shows what Hofstede's cultural dimensions; individualism-collectivism, power distance, masculinity-femininity, uncertainty avoidance and the countries' compliance with those dimensions. Additionally, attempts have been made to clarify through qualitative observations which dimensions Azerbaijani culture corresponds in Hofstede criterion.


In this paper we describe a cutting plane based algorithm for the multiple knapsack problem. We use our algorithm to solve some practical problem instances arising in the layout of electronic circuits and in the design of main frame computers, and we report on our computational experience. This includes a discussion and evaluation of separation algorithms, an LP-based primal heuristic and some implementation details. The paper is based on the polyhedral theory for the multiple knapsack polytope developed in our companion paper FMW93] and meant to turn this theory into an algorithmic tool for the solution of practical problems.


Natural products provide many bioactive lead molecules for the discovery of new medicines. Naturally, derived phytochemicals have exhibited tremendous biological activities including anticancer activity. More than 60% of antitumor medicines are closely associated with natural products. In the present study, hexane, chloroform, acetone and methanol extracts from roots of Moringa peregrina were screened for phytochemical analysis and anticancer activity. Phytochemical analysis was performed by Gas Chromatography and Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The anticancer potential of the extracts was done on the human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and cell viability was measured using WST-1 Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. The cell line was treated with different concentrations (10, 20, 40, 80, 160 and 320 μg/ml) of plant extracts and the results were compared with the standard drug Doxorubicin. The results of GC-MS analysis of different extracts revealed the presence various compounds. The anticancer studies revealed that the chloroform extract of M. peregrina have good activity against the human breast cancer cell line with the IC50 value of 127.38 μg/ml. The IC50 values of hexane, acetone and methanol extracts were 315.0, 284.8 and 353.10 μg/ml respectively. Whereas the IC50 value of the standard drug, Doxorubicin was 25.88 μg/ml. Based on these results, further study is warranted for the isolation of anticancer molecule from chloroform extract of M. peregrina root tubers.


This paper presents and selfcontrol system of a packaging production line.In the system PLC,a programmable controller is adopted.The paper also presents a ladder diagram and a wiring diagram of the system.


The primary objective of this work is to classify Hindi and Telugu stories into three genres: fable, folk-tale, and legend. In this work, we are proposing a framework for story classification (SC) using keyword and part-of-speech (POS) features. For improving the performance of SC system, feature reduction techniques and combinations of various POS tags are explored. Further, we investigated the performance of SC by dividing the story into parts depending on its semantic structure. In this work, stories are (i) manually divided into parts based on their semantics as introduction, main, and climax; and (ii) automatically divided into equal parts based on number of sentences in a story as initial, middle, and end. We have also examined sentence increment model, which aims at determining an optimum number of sentences required to identify story genre by incremental selection of sentences in a story. Experiments are conducted on Hindi and Telugu story corpora consisting of 300 and 150 short stories, respectively. The performance of SC system is evaluated using different combinations of keyword and POS-based features, with three well-established machine learning classifiers: (i) Naive Bayes (NB), (ii) k-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), and (iii) Support Vector Machine (SVM). Performance of the classifier is evaluated using 10-fold cross-validation and effectiveness of classifier is measured using precision, recall, and F-measure. From the classification results, it is observed that adding linguistic information boosts the performance of story classification. In view of the structure of the story, main, and initial parts of the story have shown comparatively better performance. The results from the sentence incremental model have indicated that the first nine and seven sentences in Hindi and Telugu stories, respectively, are sufficient for better classification of stories. In most of the studies, SVM models outperformed the other models in classification accuracy.


A polycrystalline CdSeXS1-X thin films, with a hexagonal structure, at x equal to (0, 0.4, 0.8 & 1) have been prepared on glass substrate by thermal evaporation technique. The electrical properties of these films were studied at RT. Hall measurements showed that these films are n-type; the concentration and the mobility of the charge carriers are found to increase with the increase in Se concentration from (4.4460 × 1010  to 1.5055 × 1012) cm-3 and  from (373.403 to 870.278) cm2/V. s, respectively. It was also found that the increasing in the Se concentration led to an increase in the electrical conductivity of these films from (2.65957 × 10-6 to 2.09908 × 10-4) (Ω cm)-1. Moreover it was found that these films had two activation energies which decrease with the increase in Se concentration.


The capability of the ROHF-CCSD(T) method in obtaining accurate molecular properties in a defined and controlled way is analysed. Electron affinity, polarizability, and hyperpolarizability of the oxygen molecule in its ground state, electron affinity, electric dipole moment of the CN radical, and some other molecules serve as model cases for obtaining the 'right result for the right reason'. Most calculated CCSD(T) data were extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit in order to minimize the basis set dependence of results. Some problems, specific to open shell systems include effects due to the spin adaptation, and details in the selection of the reference orbitals and related selection of denominators in non-iterative triples and other subtleties, which can affect the accuracy of the final ROHF-CCSD(T) results, are investigated.


Abstract The Cologne Public Library has offered small, facilitated study groups for online learning, called learning circles, for the past two years. The development of learning circles by Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU) is discussed, as well as the Library's experiences with this learning model. An introduction is given to the Erasmus+ project Learning Circles in Libraries (LCIL).


In order to improve the combustion stability of homogeneous charge compression ignition engines fueled with n-butanol/diesel blends, the effect of blending ratio, intake charge temperature and excess air ratio on the cycle-by-cycle variation in peak in-cylinder pressure were analyzed. Experimental results show that, with increase of the blending ratio, the coefficient of variation in peak in-cylinder pressure reduces first and then increases. With increase in temperature of intake charge, the mean value of peak in-cylinder pressure rises sharply while the coefficient of variation in peak in-cylinder pressure decreases obviously. With increase in excess air ratio, the mean value of peak in-cylinder pressure reduces sharply while the coefficient of variation in peak in-cylinder pressure increases obviously.


Objective To explore the apply value of DSA techniques in bilateral uterine arteries embolization(UAE) of treating fibroid.Methods 15 cases of fibroid were treated by uterine arteries embolization. After a 5F Yashiro catheter was placed into uterine arteries, silk fragment and gelfoam powder was inserted to obstruct the blood supply of fibroid. Many kinds of DSA techniques were performed in the operation.Results Success rate of operation was 100%.The mean operation time was 60.5± 15.1 minutes and mean fluoroscopy time was 20.3± 5.2 minutes. The volume of contrast medium was less than 50ml.Conclusion The DSA technique not only improve the success rate and safe of operation, but also reduces X-ray radiation.


In accordance with the present invention, a polycarbonate-based resin (A) and a polycarbonate-based resin (A) than by dissolution mixing the different polymer (B) and an organic solvent (C), a polycarbonate-based resin (A) in the system that the solution phase and the phase separation into two phases on the solution containing as a main component a polymer (B) containing as a main component, then forming the emulsion, polycarbonate a poor solvent of the carbonate-based resin (a) at least 80 ℃ by contacting it, sphericity, and it is possible to provide fine particles of the surface smooth polycarbonate-series resin (a). Further, there is provided a polycarbonate-based resin fine particles, in particular cosmetic, a light-diffusing film sphericity polycarbonate-series resin fine particles, a suitable smooth surface, etc. having a function.


Lead salt microdisk lasers with midinfrared emission around 5.3 μm are demonstrated. The laser structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on BaF2 substrates and consist of Pb0.95Sr0.05Se spacer layers and a ten-period PbSe/Pb0.95Sr0.05Se multi-quantum-well active region. Under optical excitation, single mode continuous-wave lasing is obtained up to temperatures of 135 K from microdisks with a diameter of 45 μm. With increasing temperature the laser emission continuously switches to resonator modes at shorter wavelengths. The lasers exhibit a threshold pump power of only 1.47 mW (75 W/cm2) at 115 K.


PurposeTo compare a new method of intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, using the Icare tonometer, with Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT). Patients and MethodsTwo observers obtained IOP readings in 292 eyes (143 right and 149 left) of 153 subjects, using the Icare without topical anesthetic. A GAT reading was subsequently obtained by a consultant ophthalmologist, without the knowledge of the Icare readings. Central corneal thickness (CCT) was obtained on all eyes with ultrasound pachymetry. Patient comfort after IOP measurement was assessed in a consecutive subset of patients. ResultsThe intraclass correlation coefficient between the 2 modalities of IOP measurement was r=0.95 for the right and r=0.93 for the left eye. The mean difference (Icare−GAT) between the IOP measured by the 2 methods was 0.4 mm Hg in the right eye (SD 3.0, 95% confidence interval −5.5 to 6.3), and 0.8 mm Hg in the left eye (SD 3.0, confidence interval −4.7 to 6.2). GAT measurements did not vary with CCT [correlation coefficient=0.09 (P=0.25) right and 0.14 (P=0.09) left eyes]. However, IOP measured with Icare tonometry increased with increasing CCT [correlation coefficient=0.16 (P=0.05) right and 0.21 (P=0.01) left eyes]. For every 100-μm increase in CCT, the difference (Icare−GAT) increased by 1 mm Hg. Of the 38 consecutive patients surveyed, 28 (73.7%) rated the Icare more comfortable than GAT, with only 2 (5.3%) rating it less comfortable (P<0.001). ConclusionsThere is good correlation between the 2 methods of IOP measurement, even at extremes of IOP. The Icare instrument was easy to use and recorded rapid and consistent readings with minimal training. It seems to be more comfortable than GAT and obviates the need for topical anesthesia.


We give a pseudorandom generator that fools degree-d polynomial threshold functions over n-dimensional Gaussian space with seed length d O(logd) · logn. All previous generators had a seed length with at least a 2 d dependence on d. The key new ingredient is our Local Hyperconcentration Theorem, which shows that every degree-d Gaussian polynomial is hyperconcentrated almost everywhere at scale d −O(logd).


AbstractThe following sections are included:The Financial Good NewsOur Deeply Felt Concerns for Bond Holders and Investment BankersWhat About the Rest of the Animal Kingdom?


Information included in auxiliary signals, i,e. incoherently and coherently scattered signals and transmitted beam intensities in x-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), a selected channel in the scattered white synchrotron radiation and in the contents of selected hremsstrahlung channels in electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), can be extracted and exploited to complete the results of analyses. Such additional information is much more detailed when the devices are operating in the microprobe mode; however, this is not a necessary condition. The theoretical basis for the use of the auxiliary signals, in the sense proposed in this paper, is discussed. In situations where the main component is of essentially constant chemical composition but with variable density through the sample (wood of living trees, petrified wood, stalactites, coral structures-in general natural periodic structures) or with inclusions inside, the application of two kind of signals is preferable in XRF: the transmitted and scattered signal. For light organic matrices (cellulose, plastics), the information included in the Rayleigh or Compton signal is reversed in relation to the information from the transmission signals. The selected hremsstrahlung signal or the signal from the secondary electron spectrum can serve the same purpose if EMPA analysis is performed. In general, these signals provide auxiliary knowledge about the density of objects. An especially interesting situation is when the object is a chemical negative of the original, such as the distribution of silica in some kinds of petrilied wood with respect to the distribution of the cellulose in the original wood. Many original results of analyses are shown. Intercomparisons of the transmission images with the reversed scattered scans in light matrices are still scarce, while the observation of bremsstrahlung or secondary electron scans (in EMPA) and their scattered or transmission analogues (in XRF) for objects and their chemical negatives is demonstrated for the first time. Comprehensive results of the analyses of petrified wood and stalactites (EMPA and XRF) are presented.


The mathematics education literature refers to 3 types of quantitative estimation skill: numerosity, measurement, and computational estimation. The psychometric literature includes a confusing array of tests intended to define quantitative estimation. This study examined relations among tests for numerosity, measurement, and computational estimation, and recognized tests for numerical facility and quantitative reasoning using principal components analysis. 2 components were identified. The first component aligned computational estimation with numerical facility and general quantitative reasoning. The second component included the tests of numerosity and measurement estimation. It was suggested that this second component might be related to spatial ability. Implications for mathematics education and assessment are discussed.


The prevalence of chronic-degenerative diseases (CDD) is increasing rapidly in many countries throughout the world. This increase is mainly related to changes in lifestyles, but very little is known on adults from the developing countries. The aim of the study was to provide data on the prevalence of risk factors of chronic diseases in retired Senegalese men, and to investigate the relation between these risk factors and their socio economic status. A cross-sectional study was undertaken on 203 retired men aged 70 ± 7 years, living in Dakar and suburbans (Senegal). Clinical examination, anthropometry (weight, height, hip and waist circumferences), fasting glucose, triglycerides, total, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were carried out. Socio-economic data were also collected. The prevalence of CD risk factors was very high. 76.6% of the retired men were at risk of cardiovascular diseases, 31% were overweight and 28% have high fasted blood glucose. Hypertension was present in 33% of the population. Abdominal fatness (wait to hip ratio) was significantly more important in the high income group than in the lower income group. The high prevalence of CDD risk factors in the older Senegalese men is associated with their advanced age and their socio-economic conditions.

 Key words: Risk factors, prevalence, chronic diseases, Senegalese retired men.


Device for connecting at least one conductor (13) electrical to at least one cable (11), (12) connection, comprising: a housing (2) connector having at least one hole (21, 22) through cable (11, 12) connection, and at least one hole (23, 34) through conductor for the conductor (13) electrical, an arrangement (3) intermediate connection arranged in the housing (2) connector having a first area (31) for connecting the cable (11, 12) connection and a second connection area for connecting the conductor (13) electrical, wherein the arrangement (3) intermediate connection comprises a structure (7 , 10, 14, 41, 45, 61) of thermal conduction, at least one diode (5) and an arrangement (4, 6) of substrate having a structure (41, 46) electrically conductive, wherein the diode ( 5) is configured as a flat diode having two main faces (51, 52) facing substantially flat, the diode being connected do to the structure (41, 61) electrically conducting and connected to the structure (7, 10, 14, 41, 45, 61) by at least one side (52) primary, in which the structure ( 41, 61) electrically conductive is configured for the electrical connection of the first area (31) connection and the second area (32) connection, and the structure (7, 10, 14, 41, 45, 61) driving thermal are configured to dissipate thermal energy from the diode (5), characterized in that the structure (41, 45) of thermal conduction is arranged on at least two sides (4-1, 4-2) different from the arrangement (4) of substrate forming a first structure (41) of partial thermal conduction on the first side (4-1) of the substrate arrangement, and a second structure (45) of partial thermal conduction on a second side (4-2) of the arrangement substrate, wherein the diode (5) is connected to the first structure (41) of thermal conduction structure (41, 4 5) thermal conduction has a hole (44) through plated via the arrangement (4) substrate in order to connect the first structure (41) of the second thermal conduction structure (45) of partial thermal conduction.


We prove that the reduced free product of k ◊ k matrix al- gebras over abelian C ⁄ -algebras is not the minimal tensor product of reduced free products of k ◊ k matrix algebras over abelian C ⁄ -algebras. It is shown that the reduced group C⁄-algebra associated with a group having the property T of Kazhdan is not isomorphic to a reduced free product of abelian C⁄-algebras or the minimal tensor product of such reduced free products. The infinite tensor product of reduced free prod- ucts of abelian C⁄-algebras is not isomorphic to the tensor product of a nuclear C ⁄ -algebra and a reduced free product of abelian C ⁄ -algebra. We discuss the freeness of free product II1-factors and solidity of free prod- uct II1-factors weaker than that of Ozawa. We show that the freeness in a free product is related to the existence of Cartan subalgebras in free product II1-factors. Finally, we give a free product factor which is not solid in the weak sense.


Traffic congestion problems are shown to be one of the main problems in transport systems causing financial losses, an increase in the number of accidents, delays, too much emission of pollutants, noise pollution, among others. The traffic bottleneck phenomenon is understood as one of the main causes of congestion, and it is necessary to understand the mechanisms of its congestion, in order to subsequently be able to reduce congestion problems. Therefore, this article consists of a study from the collection and interpretation of traffic data, at three specific points on a highway in the state of California, with a view to understanding the main characteristics of the lanes depending on the speed and flow of the road. track, obtain the maximum flow distribution on the track and evaluate the conditions of dependence between the reduction of the track capacity and the traffic flow interruptions. For this purpose, traffic data was collected using the Performance Measurement System (PeMS), developed by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and analyzed using the Wavelet Transform. In this way, it was possible to sketch preliminary characteristics of the speed and flow on the track along its lanes, obtaining information on the time of activation and deactivation of the traffic funnel in these. In addition, a brief assessment of the maximum flow distribution for the lanes is established in order to differentiate their fundamental characteristics.


From the Publisher:
McClelland introduces the next-generation, fully featured publishing tool, InDesign, to a base of users exploring the product for the first time. His book helps readers decipher the product interface, employ InDesign tools in their work, and even work with files from other applications.


.................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE .............................................................................................................................


The microtextural changes within macroscopic shear bands (MSBs) in high purity aluminium and copper single crystals with {112} initial orientation, deformed by channel die compression, have been studied in detail. Systematic measurements of single orientations by SEM/EBSD and TEM/CBED clearly show that the investigated crystals are stable only in a global sense. The occurrence of the first set of MSBs is connected with a local lattice rotation towards the {001} orientation. In particular, this process directs the (111) slip plane, towards a shear plane and the activation of new, highly stressed {111} +{111} → →CP{111} slip systems, is documented. The deformed matrix near MSBs represents a relatively more stable behaviour, and the group of the orientations situated near the C{112} -D{44 11}<11 11 8) positions describes it.


Environmental issues have been receiving an increasing amount of attention. However, evaluating sustainable products is a challenging task. A comprehensive approach to evaluate sustainable products based on life cycle assessment strategy is proposed in this study. The evaluation procedure is based on the combination of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) method. A sample evaluation for disposable coffee cups is provided to illustrate the comprehensive evaluation of sustainable products.


Many recent block ciphers use Maximum Distance Separable (MDS) matrices in their diffusion layer. The main objective of this operation is to spread as much as possible the differences between the outputs of nonlinear Sboxes. So they generally act at nibble or at byte level. The MDS matrices are associated to MDS codes of ratio 1/2. The most famous example is the MixColumns operation of the AES block cipher.
In this example, the MDS matrix was carefully chosen to obtain compact and efficient implementations. However, this MDS matrix is dedicated to 8-bit words, and is not always adapted to lightweight applications. Recently, several studies have been devoted to the construction of recursive diffusion layers. Such a method allows to apply an MDS matrix using an iterative process which looks like a Feistel network with linear functions instead of nonlinear.
Our approach is quite different. We present a generic construction of classical MDS matrices that are not recursively computed, but that are strong symmetric in order to either accelerate their evaluation with a minimal number of look-up tables, or to perform this evaluation with a minimal number of gates in a circuit. We call this particular kind of matrices "dyadic matrices", since they are related to dyadic codes. We study some basic properties of such matrices. We introduce a generic construction of involutive dyadic MDS matrices from Reed Solomon codes. Finally, we discuss the implementation aspects of these dyadic MDS matrices in order to build efficient block ciphers.


Semiconductor opening switches (SOS) can interrupt currents at density levels of up to 10 kA/cm/sup 2/ in <10 ns, operate at repetition rates up to 1 kHz, and possess lifetimes of >10/sup 11/ pulses. If stacked, SOS diodes can hold off voltage levels above a few 100 kV. They are therefore ideal for compact high voltage pulse generators of the GW-class for industrial applications. The aim of this work was to improve understanding of the opening process in a semiconductor diode of SOS-type with a doping profile of p/sup +/pnn/sup +/ structure, obtainable through diffusion from the surfaces. To simulate the physical processes inside the diode, the POSEOSS code was developed. It contains a detailed physical model of charge carrier transport under the influence of density gradients and electric fields and considers all relevant generation and recombination processes. Using this code, some new interesting results concerning plasma dynamics during the opening process have been found. Using a realistic model for the charge carrier mobility, it was found that the opening process starts first at the n-n/sup +/ boundary. Also it has been possible to derive physical conditions for the occurrence of the SOS-effect. Further improvements seem possible by adapting the SOS device structure to the specific generator circuit. Based on the simulations, a simplified SOS equivalent circuit model has been developed which can be used in circuit simulation programs such as PSpice. A new pulse generator scheme based on inductive stores is proposed, in which power multiplication is achieved by unloading the inductors, previously charged in series, in parallel. This scheme can be considered as the inductive equivalent of a Marx-generator. We present Pspice simulations of such a scheme based on semiconductor opening switches.


We provide telemedicine services to manage hypertension, utilizing our consumer-driven marketing knowledge. We have established a system jointly with TelemedEASE, a general incorporated association, and launched the service "Hypertension e-medical" in 2021. We performed quantitative and qualitative surveys to analyze consumer psychology and examined the essence of the value provided by telemedicine services for hypertension. Survey Methods:(1) Depth Interviews (1-on-1 Interviews) Survey periods and numbers of interviewees: A: May 9–10, 2021, 5 patients B: January 27–30,2022, 10 patients C: April 22–25, 2022, 10 patients(2) Concept survey (Internet survey) Survey period: June 2021 Subjects: Males aged 30–69/females aged 40–69 who are aware of their hypertension, regardless of the antihypertension medication status Total sample size: 2400 Findings (1) Depth interviews The primary intention of new users of telemedicine was "convenience," such as no need for visiting hospital and reduced waiting time, while the next largest potential value was "a sense of reassurance". Many patients have concerns that they are unable to discuss with their doctors regarding hospital visits and medication. In some cases, patients felt that they didn't receive sufficient explanations from their doctors after only a short consultation, and in other cases, even if they did receive explanations, their concerns were not fully resolved. The ability to monitor one's own symptoms by measuring one's blood pressure at home and the "a sense of reassurance" provided by medical staff watching over the smartphone Apps can be of great value to patients. (2) Concept survey Of all subjects including treated and untreated patients, 76.1% had blood pressure of 130/85 mmHg or higher, and 62.5% was on regular blood pressure medication. Majority (56.4%) regularly measured their home blood pressure. At the time of the survey, 56.4% knew about online visits but only 2.4% had used it. Currently, only 13.2% of the respondents were willing to use telemedicine. Patients in their 30 s and 40 s seemed to value "peace of mind", as the intention to use the service was about 1.7 times higher when the focus concept was "peace of mind" compared to when it was "convenience" in this age group. Conclusion: In Japan, telemedicine from the first visit recently became permanently available. The number of users is expected to increase. Providing value based on an accurate understanding of such consumer insights is important. The findings may help lead to designing services to encourage the initiation and continuation of treatment in patients with hypertension.


This paper explores a different method used for market analysis in the Forex stock market. Various econometric models, moving averages, technical indicators, and machine learning techniques have been investigated for predicting stock market trends. This study focuses on designing a new model called the multi-CNN model, which incorporates domain knowledge of Forex. The model is evaluated using EURUSD data from January 2015 to December 2020. The data is preprocessed, normalized, and divided into training, validation, and testing sets. The performance of the proposed model is compared with benchmark models such as Single-LSTM, Single-GRU, and Single-CNN. The results indicate the promising performance of the multi-CNN model in stock market forecasting. The paper provides insights into applying deep learning approaches for predicting stock market trends, highlighting the advantages of combining CNNs and utilizing multiple time frames over simple models such as simple CNN, LSTM, and other recurrent neural network-based models.


All accountants make extensive use of Information Technology in their working lives, and IT skills have long been part of the Accounting and Finance Degree programme at the University of Glamorgan. The current degree scheme, which is semesterised, contains two first year modules, one entitled " Information Systems for Accountants " and the other " Introduction to Management Accounting ". This degree scheme has been redesigned on a linear basis with effect from September 2002 and one of the changes made has been to integrate these two modules into one, entitled " Management Accounting and Information Technology ". In our view, the teaching of Management accounting lends itself well to the use of IT and it is our intention to enhance the students' learning experience, while at the same time improve their employability, by bringing the two disciplines together via an integrated case study. This paper describes the design and development of a case study to be used to deliver this module, integrating the use of IT with the use of management accounting techniques, emulating a " live " work based environment as closely as possible. Students will be presented with information that they manipulate via various packages in order to produce management accounting information. In doing so, they learn both management accounting skills and IT skills. They will then present and interpret that information using Information Technology skills. Students can therefore appreciate the practical application of various computer packages at the same time as learning management accounting techniques in an environment that emulates the workplace. Completion of tasks at intervals throughout the year will form part of the assessment of the module.. Our case study aims to achieve the following learning outcomes: • A knowledge and understanding of the application of management accounting techniques to solve standard problems and provide business information • The ability to use Information Technology in the application of Management Accounting techniques and in a wider business context. The existing literature describing the use of case studies in the teaching of accounting focuses mainly on the development of higher learning skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The literature on the teaching of Information Systems and Technology to accountants suggests that this area is in the main taught as a discrete subject and there has been little attempt to integrate it with the teaching of accounting. We perceive this as a shortcoming, in that it …


Th is paper discusses the meeting that took place between Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Th eodor W. Adorno, who were working together to come up with a research about music listening through the radio. Th e attempt to reconcile "American empiricism with European theory", proved to be, however, impossible. During the research, the diff erences between Lazarsfeld's positivistic procedures and Adorno's dialectics became an obstacle to the project's completion. Th is episode came to be one of the twentieth century most fascinating chapters on the debates about methods in communication studies.


"A species of black beans from which they make a black water and drink warm." This naive observation made from Mocha by Pieter van den Broecke in 1616, was, says de Jonge1, the Dutch East India Company's first contact with coffee. Its active participation in the coffee trade, however, became notable only towards the last quarter of the seventeenth century when the drinking of coffee became a fashion in Europe and coffee-houses were springing up all over the continent, particularly in England and France and, rather more belatedly, in the Netherlands.


A subcutaneous peritoneal catheter (SCPC) developed at the University of Utah has been used for chronic peritoneal dialysis in this center during the last 2% years. Fifty-six SCPC's were implanted in 48 patients for a total of 11, 260 days (30.8 patient years). The SCPC's were used for peritoneal dialysis for 7831 days (21.4 patient years) for 3356 peritoneal dialyses, the longest for 778 days (2.1 years). The SCPC remained functioning in ten patients during periods of nonuse, e. g., successful renal transplant, for 1908 days (5.2 patient years). The functional status of the SCPC was unknown in five patients lost to follow-up for 809 days. Functional outflow obstruction episodes occurred 39 times during peritoneal dialysis (1 per 6.6 patient months); 29 of these episodes were corrected by either bedside maneuvers or minor surgical procedures. Five out of ten SCPC's removed for obstruction were successfully replaced. Twenty-nine infections occurred (0.80% of peritoneal dialyses), resulting in nine SCPC removals (three successfully replaced). In spite of the necessary insertion of a 14-g needle for each peritoneal dialysis, the SCPC was well accepted by the patients, mostly because of the reduced care required and the increased personal freedom gained during the interdialytic interval. The long periods of patency during nonuse (up to 397 days) further indicated the possible usefulness of the SCPC as a back-up device for hemodialysis patients. This could greatly reduce the problems associated with temporary loss of blood access in patients on hemodialysis.


We have documented the significant presence of spontaneous and productive use of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in the speech of five Tunisian boys with autism, an unusual phenomenon. In typical development, MSA is not fully acquired before the late school years. The Arabic language in Tunisia is in a state of diglossia, and (unlike the colloquial Tunisian Arabic variety) MSA is virtually never used in everyday conversation. Television programs broadcast across the Arabic-speaking world constitute the most important source of MSA for preschool children. Typically developing children require active social interaction to develop language, but some children with autism may use television and cartoons as noninteractional input to acquire language. This study highlighted the existence of a noninteractional language-learning strategy that may partly compensate for the sociopragmatic deficits that characterize autism.


Abstract Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a community development strategy that has increasingly gained exposure in urban areas across the United States as a method for reducing urban sprawl a...


We suppose that most school administrators are aware of the essential processes for staffing the school plant. Yet, why do many of them experience difficulty with thezr personnel? There is no marc formula for getting the right person for the right task, but there are means for at least minimizing the risk. The author is an assistant principal at Oak Forest (Illinois) High School. The school recruiter must consider a


Zara and Limited Brands in the fashion industry are two leading companies that satisfy the clients' needs and the trend of fashion. The agile organizations which response to the change of business environment or adaptive enterprises which monitor the customer's desires have been studied over the long time in the academic world. Recently these management concepts have been extended to the Real-Time Enterprise. In this paper how to implement the RTE in the fashion industry is suggested. To implement the RTE, the end-to-end process should be continuously operated without delays. Also, the three main attributes of RTE, -visibility, intelligence, and agility-should be achieved. Further more based on the cyclone model and the RTE attributes, important issues to be considered for the successful RTE implementation are discussed.


This research work simplified the representation of an image into more significant and easier way to analyse the image segmentation process by applying graph theory using color spatial clustering with consensus region merging. The color spatial clustering with consensus region merging is compared with other traditional and graph theory model to analyse the various quality measures calculated for the input of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and X-Ray images which will be useful in medical imaging for better analysis during diagnosis. From quality measures, the proposed method shows good quality image parameters as it has lower MSE, NAE values.


ABSTRACT Waste resulted from the distillation of kayu putih leaves is a problem in almost all kayu putih refineries throughout Indonesia due to its enormous availability and un-utilization. It has potential to be used as an organic fertilizer source due to its nutrient content (macro and micro) which is higher than organic fertilizer from animals. The use of kayu putih waste is useful to complement and increase the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer in soybean intercropping with kayu putih . This [...]


Out of 19053 fever cases screened for malaria, 509 cases were found positive for malaria and 284 cases were selected for the present study. Total 31 patients had renal failure. 70.97% of renal failure patient had P. vivax mono-infection. Thrombocytopenia was the most common hematological abnormality. 7 (22.58% of malarial renal failure) patients required hemodialysis. All patients had vivax malaria. 5 patients' health improved after hemodialysis while 2 patients died during the course of illness. 5 patients (1.76%) died during the hospitalization, out of which, 4 patients had renal failure. Previously vivax malaria was considered as a benign disease, but now all sort of complications of malaria also have been observed with P. vivax infection. Although the significant number of patients were improved conservatively with anti-malarial drugs but the availability of renal replacement therapy for malarial renal failure has been shown to improve outcome.


Polypeptide targeting molecules are provided for use in delivering imaging agents to epithelial tissue. Upon delivery, the imaging agent(s) may remain within an epithelial cell or may undergo transepithelial transport via transcytosis. The targeting molecules may be used, for example, for diagnostic techniques. The polypeptide may be produced by recombinant methods, and forms a closed covalent loop, contains at least three peptide domains having beta-sheet character which are separated by domains lacking beta-sheet character, specifically binds to a basolateral factor attached to a basolateral domain of an epithelial surface causing uptake of a linked imaging agent into cells of the epithelial surface, and is not a full length dimeric Iga. Preferably, the polypeptide is a J chain polypeptide, or a J chain polypeptide linked to an immunoglobulin heavy chain without an immunoglobulin light chain. The polypeptide or imaging agent may be linked to a peptide amino acid sequence that directs delivery of the imaging agent to a carcinoma cell, a nucleus, or an endoplasmic reticulum.


To develop diverse ground cover plants in city greening,especially native species or varieties,has great significance.So we summarized the concept of cover plants,presented their history and current situation in Beijing area,and analyzed the main problems in their research and application.Based on all mentioned above,several directions that cover plant researchers should lay emphasis on were put forward,and the perspective of application was prospected.


Building a modern grassroots governance system synchronized with national development has become a significant part of China's rural revitalization strategy. To cope with the overlapping of property rights, social identities, and work and living space in China's villages, the villager group 村民小组 has been endowed with relatively complete governance power. Regional social networks, the moral constraints of reputation in the village, and the administrative incentives provided by the government constitute the incentive structure of villager group governance. At the same time, granting group cadres official authority and social power enables them to better coordinate the relationship between state and society, safeguard the rights and interests of villagers in the group, and provide low-cost public goods through their structural position in "the last kilometer" 最后一公里. However, they may also bring about the political risk of group confrontation, the economic risk of embezzling collective assets, and the moral risk of negligence and political inertia. To ward off these risks requires strengthening the leadership of grassroots party organizations, making full use of social supervision, ensuring that cadres operate in an open and above-board fashion, and introducing the notion of the rule of law, thus forming a compound risk-prevention mechanism for grassroots power and building a solid foundation for national governance.


The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of human resource information system (HRIS) and organizational learning capability on organizational performance. HRIS examined in this study consists of performance appraisal and career management. This research was conducted at the public universities located in West Sumatra. This research includes the survey research using questionnaires as the main data collection tool and using a quantitative approach. Data were collected by using a questionnaire to the universities lecturers and analyzed to test the hypotheses of this study. The method of data analysis in this study uses a statistical model with the statistical program SPSS. HRIS was measured by using the concept of behavior and found that independent variables significantly related to organizational performance. These results supported that the organizational learning capability as moderating variable influenced the relationship between HRIS and organizational performance. The model stresses the importance of HRIS supports the organizational performance at public universities. The results of this study indicate that at public universities in West Sumatra, the improvement of HRIS will lead to higher levels of organizational performance. Results of this study are expected to provide benefits to all stakeholders who have an interest in higher education, especially in information technology and performance.


In the early days of the Internet architecture, the most important aim is to transmit data over packet switched networks. The traditional Internet architecture used in these networks lacks quality of service. However, today, as realtime applications increase, it is needed. There are approaches to improving the quality of service using the flow label field in the Internet Protocol version 6 header. In this study, a novel algorithm that uses destination network parameters to reduce queuing and end-to-end delay is created. A round-robin-based time-aware priority queue new model is used within this algorithm. Data packets using this proposed queue are prioritized with metric values of the destination network. In order to provide end-to-end service quality, the prioritization value is used by placing it in the flow label field. For this purpose, a new approach to the use of this field is proposed. Delay, one of the most important factors affecting quality of service, is reduced with the proposed algorithm and flow label usage approach. As a result, the reduction in delay times between 22 and 39 ms resulted in various improvement rates between 16.79% and 35.13%.


Despite the growing literature in cryptocurrency forecasting and their price drivers, the relationship between their price and other financial time series is an ongoing matter of debate. This study proposes a three‐step methodology to cover these arguments. First, we conduct an ad hoc analysis using transfer entropy (TE) to study the causal relationship between Bitcoin (BTC) returns and a vast array of financial time series. Then, we utilize variables with a significant amount of information flow toward BTC returns to forecast multi‐step‐ahead BTC returns. Finally, we use explainable artificial intelligence post hoc analysis methods to discover the contribution of each input feature to the overall forecasting. The results indicate a significant change in the information flow pattern in the first days of the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak. Additionally, our proposed TE‐based feature‐selection method outperforms both benchmarks, a nonfeature‐selection model, and backward stepwise regression.


In this article,we did some research on the co-integration and causality between energy consumption and economy growth in Shanghai.Two conclusions were gotten.One was that there was a long-run equilibrium relationship between energy consumption and economy growth in shanghai.Another was energy consumption badly restricted regional economy growth from the short view,but the restricted impact would be reduced with the growth of economy level.


Biblical religion and biblical hermeneutics are two main concepts of Paul Tillich and Paul Ricoeur's thought, regarding implications to theological studies. In certain moments, their research approaches with common aspects. Nevertheless, each one has a particular narrative and ontology view. The purpose of this paper is to briefly correlate the hermeneutic thought of Tillich and Ricoeur, and confers their congruencies and di


A graphene-based modified bowtie plasmonic nanoantenna resonating in the optical frequency spectrum with the periodic directors created by the slots on top of the radiating structure has been proposed in this paper. In the field of nanophotonics, a few optical nanoantennas have been reported to construct multipath wireless nanolinks. At the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm (193.5 THz), the maximum directivity of 9.67 dBi has been reached due to the maximum absorption power of graphene sheet by selecting the chemical potential of 0.5 eV. Since graphene supports surface plasmon polariton waves and acts either as an absorptive or transparent medium for distinct chemical potentials, the proposed graphene-based slotted bowtie optical nanoantenna has been optimized to obtain a dynamically controlled triple-directional radiation beam. With this distinctive nature, a multipath intra or inter on-chip wireless nanolink for secure optical data transfer can be realized by integrating a set of our proposed optical plasmonic nanoantennas.


The dynamical conductivity of quantum wire arrays with disorder in a corrugation period, direction, and height are calculated in a self-consistent Born approximation. Anisotropic scattering associated with diffuse Bragg peaks causes the formation of pseudo-band-structure and gives rise to inter-band optical absorption in the dynamical conductivity in the direction perpendicular to quantum wires.


Nurses have a key role in effective pain management, the nurse's accurate assessment, prompt intervention and adaptation of pain relief measures are necessary for positive patient outcomes. This cross-sectional study carried out to highlight awareness of pain for its' importance to nurses. A convenience sample of (107) nurse selected randomly from four teaching hospitals in Nineveh Governorate through the period "December/2009-March/2010". Knowledge and Attitude Survey regarding Pain tool had been used n collecting data from the subjects which was self-administered through interview with each subject in the workplace. The main findings were; "Mean scores of correct answers= 15.65 ± 2.52, Total= 57.63, Percentage= 57.63%, Range= 40.74% 85.19%", the workplace scores statistical significant differences with awareness as a ward or as a hospital working in. The study concluded that overall awareness was good as a total or as domains except patients' behavior domain while it recommended to include the educational curriculum by pharmacological area, patient assessment and integration of knowledge about pain into daily practice. Keys; Awareness, Pain, Nurse.


A 66-year-old man was referred for non-regenerative anaemia (Hb 114 g/L) and monoclonal IgG Kappa gammopathy (29.9 g/L). Bio-chemical test results showed normal serum creatinine and calcium and slight increase beta2-microglobulin (3.21 mg/L). Bone marrow examination revealed 3% plasma cells (Figure 1A May-Grünwald-Giemsa, × 100 objective, blue arrows) and 9% lymphocytes (Figure 1A red arrows) without morphological changes related to malignancy. Flow cytometric immunophenotyping showed CD38-positive, CD138-positive plasma cells with Kappa monotypic expression and without aberrant expression of CD45, CD19, CD117, CD56, CD81 and CD27 (Figure 1B). Next generation sequencing of sorted plasma cells revealed MYD88 L265P mutation (VAF 0.22). These results were not in favour of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and led us to look for B-cell lymphomas. Flow cytometric


In order to comprehend the abundance of ayu,direct visual counting has been mainly used so far which is not only labor-intensive,but also its counting accuracy is poor.Recently,an acoustic camera called DIDSON(Dual-frequency IDentification SONar),which is invented by Washington University,can provide almost-video-quality images to identify objects even in turbid water.Its software's fish counting function is useful for counting big fishes which are several dozen centimeters large.As for the small fishes whose length are only 6 centimeters or less,it becomes technically difficult to count them because their echo image are too weak and small.In this paper we present a new method for counting small size juvenile ayu that migrates upriver using a DIDSON.We first subtract the stationary background from the acoustic image and remove noises.Then we track the remained targets by Kalman filter.According to the character of the moving targets,we sort out the targets into two groups—ayu and garbage.After removed the garbage going downstream,we reached the correct counting of the upstream fishes.The above acoustic counting method has been proved to be useful and effective by an experiment.


Hydraulic engineers are often required to compute backwater curves and the existing methods cannot be applied accurately to closed conduits as the flow approaches the crown. This paper reviews the Keifer and Chu method which uses the dimensionless parameter Q/Q c a p . A new approach is developed to compute backwater curves in circular channels in which the factor Q/Q c a p is removed so that errors are not introduced by having to interpolate these values. This new method is applicable for all possible bed slope conditions (horizontal, adverse), which is a distinct advantage over the other existing techniques. Semigraphical methods are also suggested to increase the speed of computation of backwater curves.


In this paper, the effects of the presence of viscosity in a fluid flowing through a cylindrical duct, on the sound propagation and attenuation is discussed. The field equations are obtained from the linearized variational equations of the conservation equations. Solutions of viscous case for various flow profiles are obtained and the results are compared with the inviscid and the stationary cases. The effects of shear flow coupled with viscosity are discussed and compared with the case of flow bounded by two infinite planes.


Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to determine the agglomeration rates of wet grains (particles coated with a viscous, liquid layer) engaged in simple shear flow under dilute conditions. In this work, a closed-form model derived from the elastohydrodynamic theory describes the normal restitution coefficient for binary collisions. Unlike previous MD studies, the particle deformation is not assumed to depend on a particle "overlap" (penetration), but instead depends on the formal coupling of Hertzian deformation theory with lubrication theory. The initial rate of doublet formation is studied as a function of system properties and the energy input to the system. In addition to the system properties, the distribution of relative velocities in the system is found to be a key factor influencing the initial rates of clustering. A theory based on estimating the collision frequency and the critical velocity below which no rebound is observed—due to viscous dissipation—is found to provide a good approxim...


Filtering techniques are applied to geopotential series at the 850, 700 and 300 hPa levels at Howard Base, Panama to determine if the weak spectral peak near a frequency of 0.25/day can be considered real or noto An ARMA bandpass filter and a pole cancelling method are applied to the data. Statistical tests suitable to filtered series are applied and it is determined that the hypothesis that the peaks are real is not supported.


The aim of this paper is to detecting inter-annual variations of vegetation growth based on ten-day 8 km NOAA/AVHRR NDVI images from 1983 to 1999 taken the temperate steppe, located at the northern China, as study area. Uniform image processing methods were employed to pre-process the multi-temporal NDVI images. The results shown, climate change presented warming and fluctuant precipitation over the past 17 years in this region. Annual maximum NDVI reflect preferably climate change, it increased and it's outset moved up in the past 17 years. An advance of onset and an extension of growth season length were detected.


A simple synthesis is reported for the caged polycyclic hydrocarbon hexacyclo[5,4,0,02,6,03,10,05,9,08,11]undecane and the properties of the precursors are also described.


• The initial state distribution: s0 ∼ p0(s) • Transition probability: st+1 ∼ p(st+1|st, at) • Policy: at ∼ π(at|st) • Reward: rt = r(st, at) • Optimality: p(Ot = 1|st, at) = exp(r(st, at)) The introduced auxiliary variable O allows us to model sub-optimal behavior and can be used to solve inverse reinforcement learning problem. The graphical model representation of RL provides us an alternative to solve control and planning problems via inference algorithms.


Problem: What key strategic decisions are required when choosing the right entry mode for a small Swedish firm, with a high-end jewellery brand, on the complex Japanese market?Purpose: The purpose ...


Members of Brassicaceae have been frequently cited as allelopathic crop. The toxic effect of Brassica spp. may be caused by hydrolysis products of glucosinolates that occur in substantial amounts in the vegetative parts of Brassica spp. This study investigated the allelopathic potential of Brassica napus, B. rapa and B. juncea on the sunflower seed germination and seedling growth. Aqueous extracts of three species from two stages (full flowering and straw) of sampling were separately made with 0 (distilled water), 10, 20, 30 and 40% concentrations. This experiment was conducted in 2 × 3 × 5 factorial arrangement based on completely randomized design with five replications. There was a highly significant difference among different concentrations of extracts and also between two stages of extrac tion. All aqueous extracts significantly affected sunflower germination, germination rate, seedling root and hypo cotyl length, fresh and dry matter weight when compared with distilled water control. The greatest concentration showed a stronger inhibitory effect. Root length was more sensitive to extracts than hypocotyl length.


Background: To evaluate the changes in aqueous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) following intravitreal bevacizumab injections for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration or pathologic myopia. Methods: Aqueous samples were obtained at the time of injection from 51 eyes of 51 patients who underwent three monthly intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) injections at baseline, 1, and 2 months. Concentrations of VEGF and PEDF in the aqueous were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared. Results: For the 34 eyes with age-related macular degeneration CNV, the mean ± standard deviation aqueous VEGF level reduced from 102.6 pg/mL ± 90.6 pg/mL at baseline to 18.3 pg/mL ± 22.5 pg/mL at 2 months (P < 0.001), whereas the mean PEDF level increased from 11.2 ng/mL ± 10.4 ng/mL at baseline to 38.7 ng/mL ± 47.9 ng/mL at 2 months (P = 0.001). For the 17 eyes with myopic CNV, the mean ± standard deviation aqueous VEGF level reduced from 20.1 pg/mL ± 28.9 pg/mL at baseline to 3.8 pg/mL ± 5.3 pg/mL at 2 months (P = 0.016), whereas the mean PEDF level increased from 20.0 ng/mL ± 16.3 ng/mL at baseline to 126.0 ng/mL ± 152.0 ng/mL at 2 months (P = 0.016). Conclusions: Intravitreal bevacizumab injections resulted in reduced aqueous VEGF and increased PEDF levels in patients with CNV secondary to age-related macular degeneration or pathologic myopia. These changes may be favorable for the inhibition of CNV angiogenesis.


Patient. —N. K., stock broker, aged 36, was referred to me for cystoscopy and possible catheterization of ureters on account of frequent micturition during the past two years. Previous history is negative. History. —About two and a half years ago the patient experienced a frequent desire to micturate by day, which was temporarily relieved by medicine and bladder irrigation. About four months ago, he suddenly developed epididymo-orchitis, which partially subsided in four weeks. Examination. —I first saw the patient Nov. 9; 1904. His urine was turbid. After thorough irrigation of the bladder, I injected boric-acid solution and inserted a cystoscope, with two catheters attached. I found a sore as large as a five-cent piece at the apex of the trigonum, a smaller one about one-half inch to the left, and a number of disseminated tubercles on either side of the trigonum.


Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), once known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, Sudeck's dystrophy and causalgia, is a pain syndrome with indistinctive pathophysiology and unpredictable clinical course. CRPS can develop after a limb fracture, injury or damage to the peripheral or central nervous system. The diagnosis of CRPS is based on the signs and symptoms obtained from the medical history and physical examination. The disease is often resistant to treatment, and its course is not always favorable. A brief overview of this clinical entity is presented, and most relevant and up-to-date information is discussed.


FeCrAl coatings were prepared on low carbon steel substrate by high velocity arc spraying(HVAS)technology.The oxidation performance of coatings at elevated temperature was tested,microstructures of the sprayed and oxidized coatings were investigated.Results indicated that the as-sprayed coating was consisted of Fe-Cr amorphization mainly,together with crystallic phases such as Cr_(1.3)-Fe_(0.7) O_3 and Fe-Cr solution crystals,which could be concluded that a very high cooling rate was obtained during HVAS process.The great mass of Al was oxidized during the spraying,which was existed in form of Al_2O_3.The oxidation resistances of coatings at elevated temeprature was much higher than that of 12Cr1MoV steel and approximately follows that of T91 steel.The excell oxidation resistances of FeCrAl coating was due to the chromium oxide pretective film would be formed at layers of the coating, moerever it was closely relation to the formation of Fe-Cr amorphization with high resistances to oxidizing.After being oxidatized at 800℃ for 260h,partial amorphization structures were crystallized and transformed into the fine Fe-Cr crystallic phase.


T-ALL is one of the most common types of leukemia with a high lethality rate. The effective leukemia treatment CAR-T therapy is difficult to be applied on T-ALL. Previous studies has reported that the Notch-regulated lncRNA LUNAR1 upregulates IGF1R, which increases the cell proliferation in T-ALL cell lines. The silencing of LUNAR1 will downregulate the expression of IGF1 R and reduce T-ALL cell proliferation. This study investigates the effect of knocking down LUNAR1 using LUNAR1 siRNA on T-ALL treatment, in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. The experiments will use know human leukemia cell lines, a variety of pediatric primary thymus surgical samples and peripheral blood samples, murine cell lines, and Xenograft Murine Models. There are three most possible results: (1) Knockdown of LUNAR1 inhibit the T-ALL cell proliferation in both in vitro and in vivo cell lines; (2) Knockdown of LUNAR1 only inhibit the T-ALL cell proliferation in in vitro cell cultures; (3) Knockdown of LUNAR1 only inhibit the T-ALL cell proliferation in determined human and murine T-ALL cell lines. The result of this study will provide important information for the future clinical trial of LUNAR1 knockdown therapy. Future studies should focus on improving the in vivo delivery methods and finding more LUNAR1 drug inhibitors, as well as exploring the specific gene regulation mechanism of LUNAR1 in detail.


GuillermoGomez-Pena (1994, 28) aptly characterizes the ambivalence toward Mexico in U.S. popular culture in terms of food and violence: "The current media war against the Latino cultural other is intercut with eulogies to our products. Blood and salsa, that's the nature of this relationship." "War" between the United States and Mexico has long been cast as a desire to consume the "other" within the Anglo-American body and nation. From theTreaty of GuadalupeHidalgo to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the current obsessionwith "Latin" culture, U.S. national, cultural, and economic forces have viewed Mexico as a commodity to incorporate. Blood circulates with salsa and tequila throughout this history of (neo)colonial ingestion. The U.S. desire to consume Mexico has always been contested by anticolonialism as well as by xenophobia (defending national and corporeal purity), but Manifest Destiny and NAFTA have had their way thus far. I will focus here on one site where the contours of this battle are drawn: the Alamo. The competing national claims that converged at this Texas mission have been encoded in popular culture as desire that is simultaneously alimentary and heterosexual. This intersection of food, sex, and cultural plunder is apparent in U.S. corporate manifestations, such as Taco Bell, whose advertisements appeal to heterosexual masculinity by establishing a metonymic relationship between women and tacos and by framing this romance within a mission-style architecture reminiscent of the Alamo.1 This setting—like other Taco Bell ad campaigns highlighting border crossing, patriotism, and revolution—associates U.S. consumption of Mexican food with the historical framework of colonialism, but coding (inter)national relations in


Thank you very much for downloading the politics of international organizations patterns and insights. As you may know, people have look hundreds times for their favorite readings like this the politics of international organizations patterns and insights, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they juggled with some malicious bugs inside their computer.


The passive detection of low-altitude signal sources is studied using an improved cross-correlation method in the time–frequency domain. A matching template is designed for signal cross-correlation, and a cross-correlation threshold is used to determine whether a signal source is present or not. An improved cross-correlation method is also proposed to estimate the direction of arrival and communication frequency of a signal source. Furthermore, the distance and signal-to-noise ratio are estimated using an energy detector. Outdoor data from a bridge in the Jimo District, Qingdao, and indoor data from a research laboratory are used for performance evaluation. The results obtained show that the proposed method can provide better passive detection of low-altitude signal sources compared to several well-known algorithms in the literature. In addition, this method is more suitable for long-distance detection.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Precis: Preoperative intravenous (IV) dexmedetomidine produced a 33% reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP) within 15 minutes of administration in patients with glaucoma. Purpose: To evaluate the effect of preoperative IV dexmedetomidine on IOP in adult patients undergoing glaucoma surgery under local anesthesia. Methods: In a prospective interventional case series, 12 patients with uncontrolled IOP (IOP>24 mm Hg in both the eyes) with the systemic status of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification I-II, received IV dexmedetomidine 0.6 µg/kg 30 minutes preoperatively. The IOP of the nonsurgical eye (measured with Perkins tonometer), the heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP) were recorded 5 minutes prior, 15 minutes and 2 hours after IV dexmedetomidine administration, and were compared using analysis of variance and Tukey honestly significant difference tests. Results: There were 4 women and 8 men with a mean age (±SD) of 60.6±10.4 years. The mean number of antiglaucoma medications was 4.3±1.3. The mean pre-dexmedetomidine IOP was 31.5±5.6 mm Hg. At 15 minutes post-dexmedetomidine administration, the mean and percentage drop in IOP were 10.2±3.2 mm Hg (P=0.001) and 33%±11%, respectively. The mean and percentage drop in systolic BP were 18±20 mm Hg (P=0.01) and 12%±14%, and drop in diastolic BP were 6.5±10 mm Hg (P=0.05) and 7%±11%, respectively. The mean and percentage drop in HR were 2±0.6 bpm (P=0.48) and 2%±13%, respectively. None of the subjects experienced any medication-related adverse effects. At 2 hours, the mean and percentage drop in IOP were 5.3±3 mm Hg and 17%±11%, respectively. Conclusion: In the small sample of (ASA I-II) patients studied, preoperative dexmedetomidine produced a significant drop in IOP (33%) within 15 minutes of IV administration in patients with glaucoma that was reversing at 2 hours, with a good safety profile.


The invention discloses a laser cutting method for double-layer glass in order to solving problems in the prior art.Automatic production can be achieved, and therefore cutting efficiency is effectively improved; in addition, the cutting precision is high, and the cutting surface is smooth and attractive.In order to achieve the purpose, the laser cutting method for the double-layer glass comprises the steps that an ultra-fast laser beam penetrates through the first glass to be focused on the upper surface of the second glass for scanning, and the upper surface of the second glass is cut to form a first groove; the ultra-fast laser beam is focused on the upper surface of the first glass for scanning along the track of the first groove, and the upper surface of the first glass is cut to form a second groove; pressure is applied along the first groove and the second groove from bottom to top for cracking, or pressure is applied along the second groove and the first groove from top to bottom for cracking.Preferentially, the pulse of the ultra-fast laser beam is not larger than 10 picoseconds.


The morphology of Rb2ZnBr4 single crystals as observed in growth sphere experiments is analyzed on the basis of geometrical morphological laws extended to take into account the incommensurate modulated nature of these crystals. Especially in the past, identification of crystals faces (hkt) on the basis of these classical morphological laws has been a powerful tool in the determination of 3-dimensional cell parameters. In analogy, the relative magnitude of the modulation wave vector (the fourth lattice constant in the language of the superspace approach) can be deduced now from the identification of satellite faces described by four low rational indices (hklm).


This research aims to analyze the factors that influence consumers in making decisions to consume halal food in West Java. The research problem is formulated as follows: how to analyze the factors that influence consumers' decisions to consume halal food in West Java using a qualitative research method with a phenomenological approach. The data collection techniques used are observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis follows the interactive model by Miles and Huberman. The research findings indicate eight factors that can be analyzed in the decision to purchase halal food products in West Java: 1) Benefit factor - West Java society chooses to consume halal food that is beneficial for their well-being and health, 2) Marketing factor - this factor is crucial because West Java society needs information about the halal status of a product they intend to consume, 3) Halal Label factor - West Java society prefers food products with halal labels regardless of the product type, 4) Religiosity factor - West Java society with higher levels of religiosity tends to be more cautious in selecting halal food, 5) Price factor - competitive prices and a variety of halal products can satisfy the people of West Java, 6) Quality factor - the people of West Java prefer consuming high-quality and guaranteed halal food, 7) Taste factor - with the development of the halal product industry, it also influences the taste preferences of the people of West Java, who increasingly consume halal food, and 8) Needs factor - the people of West Java tend to consume halal food and products to fulfill their daily needs.


The word "倗友(Peng You)"in the Zhou Dynasty bronze inscriptions, with quite different meaning from Peng You(friend) in modern Chinese, hasn't got comprehensive and in-depth explanation of its original meaning. The phrase "Peng You(friend)" was written as "倗友" in the bronze inscriptions and the font reflected its primitive connotation. The textual research of this word can be helpful to discover theancient social organization and reveal the true identity of "倗友" in the Shang and Zhou Dynasty society.


Having reviewed the data on the risk of myopathy, the FDA recommends that the 80-mg dose of simvastatin be used only in patients who have been taking this dose for an extended period without signs or symptoms of clinically significant muscle toxicity.


Native Americans have often been identified as fierce warriors by numerous observers from both within and outside of tribal societies. Many reasons have been given to explain this characteristic, especially when focusing on modern times. Some fight for their personal honor, others as modern-day extensions of their tribal legacies, still others fight with a general patriotic view of country. Whatever the motivation or cause of service in the armed forces, it has been noted in this modern era that Native Americans hold the highest record of military service per capita compared to other ethnic groups. Indeed, as the Department of the Navy has pointed out, "[t]he reasons behind this disproportionate contribution are complex and deeply rooted in traditional American Indian culture."1 To be sure, one of the distinct cultural values among Indigenous groups is a proud warrior tradition. This tradition manifests itself as a "willingness" by Native Americans "to engage the enemy in battle," and is "clearly demonstrated by the courageous deeds of Native Americans in combat. It is best exemplified by the following qualities said to be inherent to most, if not all, Native American societies: strength, honor, pride, devotion, and wisdom."2 At the end of the nineteenth century, Theodore Roosevelt recognized this inherent military quality of the American Indians when he began recruiting men during the Spanish- American War in May 1898 for his famed 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, what American press named "Roosevelt's Rough Riders." In his memoir about the Rough Riders, Roosevelt talked about going to Indian Territory and mustering Native Americans into service from the region. Roosevelt commented that "[t]here was one characteristic and distinctive contingent which could have appeared only in such a regiment as ours. From the Indian Territory there came a number of Indians - Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks. Only a few were of pure blood."3 When Colonel Theodore Roosevelt (then Assistant Secretary of the Navy) visited Indian Territory to recruit troops for the First Territorial Volunteer Cavalry, one Chickasaw by the name of Benjamin Horace Colbert eagerly answered the call, enlisted, and became a member of Roosevelt's famed Rough Riders. Moreover, in his recollections in The Rough Riders, Roosevelt specifically mentioned Benjamin H. Colbert. "Another Indian came from Texas. He was a brakeman on the Southern Pacific, and wrote telling me he was an American Indian, and that he wanted to enlist. His name was Colbert, which at once attracted my attention; for I was familiar with the history of the Cherokees and Chickasaws during the eighteenth century, when they lived east of the Mississippi. Early in that century, various traders, chiefly Scotchmen, settled among them, and the half-breed descendants of one named Colbert became the most noted chiefs of the Chickasaws. I summoned the applicant before me, and found that he was an excellent man, and, as I had supposed, a descendant of the old Chickasaw chiefs."4 Benjamin H. Colbert was a descendant of famous Chickasaw and Choctaw leaders. The Colbert name remains prominent throughout Chickasaw history, and Ben Colbert's grandfather, Martin Colbert, was one of the Chickasaw leaders sent from Mississippi in 1838 to investigate the new Indian Territory in which the tribe would soon settle. In 1842, Martin Colbert moved his family to the new tribal lands, including a son, James A. Colbert, who was ten years old at the time. James was married to Athenius Folsom, daughter of Israel Folsom, who was a prominent Choctaw, and descended from the royal Iksa, or clan. The marriage of James and Athenius united two extremely prominent Chickasaw and Choctaw families. Soon, they would have a son named Benjamin. On May 23, 1898, Benjamin Colbert enlisted in the Rough Riders. On his enlistment form he was listed at 56 ¾" tall, 25 years of age, and residing in San Antonio, Texas (which was a mistake because he was from Indian Territory) . …


Responses of morphological and physiological characteristics in rice(Oryza sativa L.) seedling roots to its uptake of nano-Cu O(10, 100mg/L) were investigated using hydroponic experiments by setting micron oxide copper(micron-Cu O) and copper ions(Cu2+) as control. Results showed that total copper contents in roots and shoots(roots 351~1444mg/kg dw; shoots 351~1444mg/kg dw) of rice seedlings in nano-Cu O treatments(10, 100mg/L) were higher than those in micron-Cu O treatments(roots 248~817mg/kg dw; shoots 1.57~1.60mg/kg dw) and Cu2+ treatments(roots147~220mg/kg dw; shoots 14~26mg/kg dw), and furthermore, nano-Cu O was observed in TEM images of both root and stem cells, indicating rice seedling can uptake and transfer nano-Cu O by the form of nano-Cu O. A large amount of nano-Cu Os observed in endosomes of rice seedling cells indicated that nano-Cu O mainly relied on endocytic pathways to enter cell. The nano-Cu O had toxic effects on rice seedling roots and the inhibitory rates on roots morphologies of nano-Cu O ranged from 28% to 74%, and root length, root volume and root specific surface area were most sensitive indicators for nano-Cu O toxicity. Both nano-Cu O bioaccumulation in rice and nanoeffects resulted in toxicities of nano-Cu O to rice seedling roots. Under low concentration of nano-Cu O strees(10mg/L), root activities of rice seedlings significant improved but no significant differences were observed in its total roots absorbing area and actively absorbing area, compared with the control. Under high concentration of nano-Cu O strees(100mg/L), root activities and total roots absorbing area of rice seedlings significantly decreased, compared with control.


In the framework of the Standard Model with lepton mixing the radiative decay $\nu_i \rightarrow \nu_j \gamma$ of a neutrino of high ($E_\nu \sim 100 \, GeV$) and super-high ($E_\nu \ge 1 \, TeV$) energy is investigated in the Coulomb field of a nucleus. Estimates of the decay probability and ``decay cross-section'' for neutrinos of these energies in the electric field of nucleus permit one to discuss the general possibility of carrying out the neutrino experiment, subject to the condition of availability in the future of a beam of neutrinos of that high energies. Such an experiment could give unique information on mixing angles in the lepton sector of the Standard Model which would be independent of the specific neutrino masses if only the threshold factor ($1 - m_j^4 / m_i^4$) was not close to zero.


Teacher-student interaction (TSI) is essential for learning efficiency and harmonious teacher-student interpersonal relationships. However, studies on TSI support tools often focus on teacher needs while neglecting student needs and autonomy. To enhance both lecturer competence in delivering interpersonal interaction and student autonomy in TSI, we developed NaMemo2, a novel augmented-reality system that allows students to express their willingness to TSI and displays student information to teachers during lectures. The design and evaluation process follows a new framework, STUDIER, which can facilitate the development of theory-based ethnics-aware TSI support tools in general. The quantitative results of our four-week field study with four classes in a university suggested that NaMemo2 can improve 1) TSI in the classroom from both teacher and student perspectives, 2) student attitudes and willingness to TSI, and 3) student attitudes to the deployment of NaMemo2. The qualitative feedback from students and teachers indicated that improving TSI may be responsible for improved attention in students and a better classroom atmosphere during lectures.


We study the neutral periodic points of the Markov-Dyck shifts of finite strongly connected directed graphs. Under certain hypothesis on the structure of the graphs $G$ we show, that the topological conjugacy of their Markov-Dyck shifts $M_D(G)$ implies the isomorphism of the graphs.


were analysed. Differences were found between the self-reported and adjusted records for protein, calcium, vitamin B 12 , zinc and dairy food serves (all P<0.001; differences up to 8%). No significant differences were found between the adjusted and dietitian-assisted measures.


A study of the dynamics of an upconversion‐pumped dual‐wavelength erbium laser is presented. Using a model based on rate equations, we predict the emission regimes of the laser and the thresholds of these emission regimes, for two pump mechanisms. The values of the resonator losses also play an important role in the selection of the emission wavelength(s) and temporal emission regime. CW emission is possible at 850 nm or 551 nm or both these wavelengths simultaneously. Self‐pulsing is also possible for values of losses and pump photon flux that cause instability to the steady‐state solutions of the rate equations.


Particle impact drilling is an efficient drilling technology for deep-well hard formation, With this technology, the rock is cut mainly by high-speed spherical particle impact under hydraulic action. In this article, the influence of jet flow factors, hydraulic factors and abrasive factors on rock breaking is studied through indoor experiments of impact by steel particles. The results indicate that the particle water jet has an optimal standoff distance and particle concentration; the rock breaking effect declines with the increase of the confining pressure and the decrease of the pump pressure and particle diameter. This study will provide some food of thought for the development of particle impact drilling technology.


Background Infant feeding decisions depend on knowledge and attitudes toward breast feeding, which may be formed as early as adolescence. Purpose The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess knowledge as well as attitude of female non-medical students regarding breast feeding in selected universities of Tehran in 2006. Methods 800 students selected by multi-stage cluster randomized sampling took part in the study. A questionnaire completed by the subjects was used to collect data. Content and test-retest methods were used for its validity and reliability respectively. Results 51.6% of the students had moderate knowledge and 41.6% had good knowledge regarding breast feeding. Knowledge of engineering students was more than the others. In addition, 75.4% of the subjects had positive attitude toward the feeding. There was a significant difference between attitude scores in three knowledge levels (good, moderate, poor) (P Conclusion Findings showed that students need more knowledge in some aspects to have more positive attitude for performing a successful breast-feeding program. Keywords Knowledge, Attitude, Breast feeding.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen, and one of the major factors contributing to its virulence is the capacity to produce a high-affinity iron-scavenging siderophore, pyoverdine ([10][1], [11][2], [21][3]). Pyoverdines form a family of peptidic siderophores comprising a


The enzyme protein farnesyltransferase (FPT) transfers a farnesyl group from the prenyl donor farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) to a cysteine residue on substrate proteins which contain a C-terminal CaaX motif, where C is cysteine, a is an aliphatic amino acid, and X is methionine, serine, or glutamine. Known substrates for FPT include nuclear lamin B and the small GTP-binding proteins H-, K-, and N-Ras. Short peptides encompassing the CaaX motif of these proteins are also farnesylated by FPT. In this unit, two methods for assaying FPT activity and testing inhibitors are described. Both are based on measuring the transfer of [3H]farnesyl from FPP to a protein or peptide substrate. The first method, the TCA assay, uses native protein substrates of FPT (a support protocol details procedures for expressing and purifying histidine-tagged H-Ras in bacteria), and the prenylated product is collected by trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitation in the presence of carrier protein. A support protocol is also provided for preparing bovine brain membrane extract for use as the carrier. The second method employs scintillation proximity assay (SPA) technology in which a biotinylated peptide is used as a substrate, and streptavidin SPA beads are used to capture the farnesylated peptide. These procedures can be easily modified to measure prenylation of other protein substrates by FPT and related enzymes.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES A biosimilar is a biological medicine that is very similar to another one already marketed in the European Union (EU) whose patent has expired and the differences between which are not clinically significant, in other words do not affect clinical practice. More biosimilars are slowly being developed and, consequently, the experience with their use is increasing. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) considers the biosimilars approved in the EU to be interchangeable, and has signed a statement to reduce the uncertainty regarding interchangeability of biosimilars in clinical practice. The aim of this bulletin is to define the basic concepts, describe the comparability, authorisation and interchangeability processes, evaluate the scientific evidence regarding the efficacy, safety and economic impact of the switch, and to describe the current situation of biosimilars in Spain. MATERIALS AND METHODS A literature search was carried out for systematic reviews evaluating the efficacy/effectiveness, safety and immunogenicity or economic impact of the switching in Pubmed and Epistemonikos up to 28/11/2022. Documents from regulatory agencies and other publications of interest were also reviewed. Data regarding the consumption and economic impact of biosimilars in Spain were obtained from the Ministry of Health, and those for Navarre were obtained from the information databases of the Navarre Health Service-Osasunbidea (SNS-O). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS In general, the evidence available demonstrates that the switching of a reference medicine for a biosimilar does not affect the efficacy, safety or immunogenicity in any significant manner. Some reviews have identified a higher than expected discontinuation rate for the biosimilar after the switch, mainly due to a potential nocebo effect and a lack of confidence of healthcare professionals in the switching. A total of 147 biosimilar medicines are currently marketed in Spain, corresponding to 15 active substances. The introduction of biosimilars in Spain continues to increase, with a penetration of 67.6% having been estimated in a hospital setting in 2021. Similarly, a saving of more than 5 billion € between 2009 and 2022 as a result of their introduction has been estimated.